Pogo stick



POGO STICK Filed Feb. 18, 1955 INVENTOR Genf ATTORNEYS United States PatentO POG() STICK George B. Hansburg, Walker Valley, N. Y.

Application February 18, 1955, Serial No. 489,116

4 Claims. (Cl. 272-57) The invention relates to the art of amusement devices and more particularly to devices known as pogo sticks.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a pogo stick which is neat, compact and durable and not likely to become deranged even with long use, which may be made from relatively inexpensive components and readily assembled at low cost, and which in addition to functioning in the manner of a conventional pogo stick, may readily be set for adjustment of its recoil to an amount which depends upon the weight of the user, to prevent injury to the latter due to excessive recoil action.

According to the invention, these objects are accomplished by the arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter described and particularly recited in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the device partly in cross section,

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 2 taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line i Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Fig. l.

Referring now to the drawings, the device comprises a frame 11 illustratively a pair of elongated rigid supporting members 12 and 13 of any suitable material such as hardwood or metal, but preferably of tubular stock, which are in spaced parallel relation along the greater part of their length and the lower ends 14 of which are aihxed to a foot rest 15. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the foot rest comprises a length of suitable .rigid material which also may be hardwood, but preferably is cast aluminum which has a center portion 16 with a lateral extension 17 on each side on which the feet of the user may rest. The center portion 16 of the foot rest has a bore 21 therethrough and has a recess 22 on each side of said bore, in which the lower end 14 of the respective supporting members may be positioned, said members being secured in said openings as by pins 23.

The supporting members 12 and 13 are bent toward each other adjacent their upper ends as at 24 and are secured to each other as by a bolt 25, the free ends 26 of said supporting members being bent outwardly as shown to serve as handles to be grasped Iby the user of the device.

Mounted on the spaced supporting members 12 and 13 and extending transversely therecross adjacent the bent portions 24 thereof, is a guide member 28 which may be a stamped metal clamp, but preferably is an elongated block of rigid material preferably of cast aluminum. The guide member 28 has a bore 29 therethrough near 2,793,036 Patented May 21, 1957 each end spaced the same distance as the recesses 22 in the foot rest 15 and through which the supporting members 12 and 13 extend, the guide member 28 being secured to the supporting members by pins 31 extending through the guide member and the supporting members.

The guide member 28 also has a bore 33 therethrough longitudinally aligned with the bore 21 in the center portion 16 of the foot rest 15 and a rod 35, preferably of tubular stock, the length of which is greater than the distance between the foot rest 15 and thel guide member 28 extends through both of said -bores 21 and 33. Desrably, the portion 36 of the rod extending beyond the foot rest 15 is longer than the portion 37 of the rod extending beyond the guide member 28 and a foot 39 of resilient material is positioned on the endl of said longer portion.

Encompassing the portion of the rod 35 Ibetween the foot rest 15 and the guide member 28 is a strong coil spring 41, the ends of which are desirably positioned in cups 42 and 43 through which the rod extends. The cup 43 is urged by the coil spring 41 against a stop member 44, illustratively a cotter pin extending through the rod 35 adjacent the lower end thereof between the foot rest and the guide member 28 and the cup 42 is urged by the coil spring 41 against the undersurface of the guide member 2S. Thus in the position shown in full lines in Fig. l, the coil spring will be in extended, though slightly compressed condition, normally urging the frame 11 up- .wardly, limited by the abutment of the center portion 16 of the foot rest 15 against the cotter pin 44.

The upper portion 37 of the rod 35 is desirably provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings 45 therethrough to receive a stop member 46, illustratively a cotter pin. The openings are so spaced that when the cottor pin 46 is in the uppermost opening 45a, the spring 41 Will be Ibut slightly compressed and when the Cotter pin 46 is in any of the openings below the topmost opening 45a, the foot rest 15 will be moved away from the cotter pin 44 and the coil spring 41 will be compressed by an amount depending upon the setting of the Cotter pin 46.

Before the device is used, the cotter pin 46 is set in an appropriate opening 45 to adjust the tension of coil spring 41. Thus, for a lightweight person, the strong coil spring will be only slightly compressed with each bouncing action and hence the recoil will be correspondingly small. For such a user the Cotter pin 46 may be inserted into the topmost aperture 45a. For a heavy person, the coil spring would be compressed considerably with each bouncing action so that its recoil would be correspond ingly great with the possibility that the user of the device might be thrown therefrom. For such a heavy user the pin 46 is inserted into an opening 45 below the topmost opening 45a, thereby compressing the coil spring. Hence the amount of further compression of the spring in use of the device would be limited, thereby limiting the recoil.

The device is thereupon used in conventional manner, that is, the user grips the lhandles 26 and with both feet placed on the foot rest bounces up and down in manner Well known in the art of pogo sticks.

Means are provided to enable the user to know how many bouncing motions he is able :to accomplish during each use of the device. To this end, a counter 51 is mounted in such manner that it will be actuated with each movement of the frame. In the illustrative embodiment, the counter is 'axed to one of the supporting members 12 of the frame above the guide member 28. The actuating shaft 52 of the counter which extends transversely with respect to the frame mounts a leaf spring 53, for example, at its end and the free end of the leaf spring is in the path of movement of the upper end 54 of the rod 35. Thus each time the user presses down on the foot rest, the free end of the leaf spring 53 will abut against the end 54 of the rod to turn the shaft52 of the counter to effect the desired counting action.

The device above described is extremely durable and capable of long use `without becoming out of order. By reason of the fact that the recoil of the coil spring is capable of adjustment, the device may readily be set, for use by a person of any weight so that there is no danger of excessive recoil of the coil spring which might throw the user from the device with resultant possible injury.

Asrmany changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without deoarting from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative 'and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A pogo stick comprising an elongated frame having a handle adjacent one end and a foot rest adjacent the other end, an elongated member extending parallel to said frame, means connecting said elongated member and said frame for reciprocating movement therebetween, said elongated member extending beyond said foot rest, a guide member rigid with said frame, longitudinally spaced from said foot rest and through which the inner end of said elongated member extends, resilient means reacting at one end against said elongated member and at its other end against said guide member and means to adjust the tension on said resilient means, said means comprising a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings in the end of said elongated member adjacent said guide member and a pin adapted to be positioned in any one of the openings in the elongated member on the side of the guide member remote from the side thereof against which the resilient means reacts.

2. A pogo stick comprising a pair of elongated tubular members made of relatively light, structurally strong material and extending parallel to and spaced from each other at least along a portion of their length, a handle conformation lat one end of said members, a foot rest avisarmeV afxed to said members adjacent their other end and ex- Vtending transversely with respect thereto, a guide member aixed .to said members between the foot rest and the handle conformation and extending transversely with respect to said members, a tubular rod made of relatively light, structurally strong material positioned between said elongated members andv transversely spaced therefrom and in the same plane as said members, said rod extending through and beyond said guide member and said foot rest slidnbly mounted with respect thereto, and a coil spring encompassing the portion of said rod between said guide member and said foot rest and reacting at one end against said guide member and at its other end against said rod.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which means are provided to adjust the tension on said coil spring. j

4. A pogo stick comprising an elongated frame member having a handle adjacent one end and a foot rest adjacent the other end, an elongated support member extending parallel to said frame member, means connecting said elongated support member and said elongated frame member for reciprocating movement therebetween, said elongated support member extending from said frame member beyond said foot rest, a coil spring reacting at one end against said support member and at its other end against said frame member to urge said support member beyond said foot rest, said frame member being moved against the tension of said coil spring when pressure is exerted against said foot rest, and complementary means to adjust Ithe initial tension of said coil spring, one of said elongated members having a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings defining one of the cornplementary means Iand a pin adapted to be positioned in any one of -said openings defining the other complementary means, the position of said pin limiting the extension of said spring and determining the initial tension thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,202,202 Hesse May 28, 1940 2,712,443 Hohberger Iuly 5, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 182,882 Great Britain July 6, 1922 

